Interview with J. Kindred

I'm pleased to share this interview with you! J. Kindred is the audiobook narrator for Son of the Siren. He did such a tremendous job, and I recommend you listen to the audiobook not just for my story, but because you'll hear such excellent performances from him!

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Please introduce yourself.

Hi, I'm J. Kindred, audiobook narrator and aspiring voiceover talent.

How long have you been recording audiobooks?

I am still pretty new to narration. It's only been about 8 months since I started.

What made you want to be an audiobook narrator?

It's something I've been interested in for a long time. It probably first started when I was very young, when my Mom would play the cassette tape box sets of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Then when I got a bit older, Stephen King.

I really got into [audiobooks] on my own as an adult when I used to drive construction water trucks for a living. The job got very boring and they would break up the monotony. After that, I was hooked, and would listen to them while driving around town, cooking, doing chores, or walking my dog.

I always enjoyed doing voices and impersonations for my friends and family, so it seemed like a no-brainer. It never seemed viable, though, because of how the business used to work, and in some cases it still does. Equipment is expensive, but it has gone down considerably in the last 10 years, so after looking back into it after a long time, I decided to take the plunge.

What kind of acting/performance experience do you have?

As with a lot of nerdy kids, I did some theatre and drama in school, but it was never my primary interest. I was first and foremost a band kid all through high school. I started playing saxophone; baritone sax to be precise, but later would also switch around to trombone, tuba, and baritone/euphonium. Somewhere in there I also picked up bass guitar, and later regular guitar, eventually forming a punk/hard rock band in my early 20s, where I played the bass and was the lead vocalist. In recent years, though, my only real experience with acting has been playing and running tabletop RPGs with my friends, until I decided to pursue voice acting.

In Son of the Siren, you interpreted several characters as having accents. Which accent is your favorite to perform, and why did you assign it to that specific character?

This one is hard. Some [accents] are new and challenging, while others are old favorites, but I've always enjoyed the Irish accent I applied to the Glynnan elves. I am actually writing this on my way to Dublin, which is the dialect I chose for them. As to why, I suppose it's because the Glynnan elves are a hardy people with strong family and community ties. They are no-nonsense, and have a rich cultural heritage. All things I attribute to the Irish. At the risk of talking politics, I can't help but compare the relationship of the Glynnan elves and [the kingdom of] Ardeth, to that of the Irish and British, having been oppressed for so long, and just told to "deal with it."

Who was your favorite character to perform, and who was the most challenging? Why?

That would almost definitely be Lord Iesin. I would be lying if I said I wasn't channeling my inner Matt Berry for him. I love his cadence and tone. When I read the first lines for Lord Iesin, it was his voice that immediately popped into my head, and I don't think I would have been happy with anything else.

I will say though the next [favorite[ would be what I referred to as the nightmare pixie. I used a lot of pitch shifting for it to get it right, so it was a fun process with a happy, bizarre, creepy result.

The most challenging would have to be Kerrick. It took a lot of work and YouTube Indian accent tutorials until I felt like it was good enough to not sound like a caricature, or outright offensive. Please forgive me if I did in fact do so to anyone.

There are many songs in Son of the Siren. You ended up creating melodies for all of them. Why did you want to sing? How did you figure out how to perform the songs? Was there any song you loved the most?

As I mentioned before, I am a musician, but it has been a long time since I have performed for anyone or anything other than myself, or family and friends. So, when I came across the songs in the book, I naturally started singing them to myself. I liked what was happening, so I thought I'd give it a try. It made me happy when [Kristina] enjoyed them, and felt good doing it. [Kristina] definitely gave me plenty of direction as to the feeling of the songs in the book. I've composed quite a bit myself, so if I'm being honest, it all came pretty naturally.

I'm going to have to agree with Kitra, as the bawdy [songs] are the best. Her song was a lot of fun, as well as the Darkling Wood, but it might be mostly how it ends. It cracked me up. However, Brandegil's song just felt right. I'm a huge fan of the Celtic punk band Flogging Molly, so it was a great excuse to impersonate Dave King, the leading vocalist.

Was there a specific scene (please, no spoilers!) that was difficult for you to perform?

I can't really think of any particular scenes. There were some parts here and there with some of my less proficient accents, where I was beating my head against the wall trying to get the lines right, but was more me just not quite used to them yet. There were some tender moments, though--that was a new experience for me. I don't really consider my voice well suited for those situations, so it was hard to get the pace and tone to where I wanted it. All in all I surprised myself with how good they came out.

What are some pieces you narrated that you are really proud of?

The aforementioned tender part was one of them. It was out of my normal comfort zone, but I think I did better than I thought I would. Another would be the nightmare pixie. It was so chaotic and strange, but ended up sounding pretty cool.

If you were to give advice to anyone wanting to perform audiobooks, what would you say?

Just go for it. You don't need a crazy expensive mic. The one I started out with was $60.

The place you record is more important. Closets full of clothes are your friend. My booth is set up in a walk-in with some modifications to help with acoustics, but the overhead for it was pretty inexpensive.

Audacity is a fantastic free software to start out with, and there is a wealth of information on YouTube to help you get started.

Most of all, don't get discouraged. This is a lot of work, and it takes time and practice to get a handle on it. I didn't realize how bad I was at reading out loud (if I'm being honest, I'm still not great) until I sat in front of a mic and started doing it the first time. After a while, and much much doubt, it started to come together.

Be prepared to spend a lot of time in front of a computer. When I first started, it would take me anywhere from 10 to 20 hours for 1 hour of completed recording. This is the recording itself, with all the retakes, and the endless amount of editing involved, when you have no idea what you are doing in the beginning.

Most of all, have fun. Audition for projects you don't think you're cut out for, and you might be surprised. All experience is good experience. Hope to hear from you soon!